The Vale of Glamorgan Council

Democratic Services Committee 15th January 2014

Director of Resources

Members’ ICT – Development and Training

Purpose of the Report

1. To inform Members of issues in respect of ICT for Members and current/planned ICT projects.

Recommendations

That Members note the content of the report.

Reasons for the Recommendations

To ensure Members are made aware of any developments to their ICT Service and of any training and development opportunities for Members’ use of ICT.

Background

2. Following the decision at the meeting of this committee on the 9th October that Member ICT requirements becomes a standard agenda item at future meetings, this report will update Members on progress of issues raised at the last meeting and provide information as to ICT developments across the Council.

Relevant Issues and Options

3. A survey of Members’ requirements and satisfaction with ICT services was carried out in May 2012 by the Corporate Improvement Manager, however it is nearly 2 years since that review and it is recommended that another review be carried out over the next two months to further ascertain Members’ requirements.

4. A customer satisfaction review has just been completed for internal staff and a presentation of the results of that survey will take place during this meeting to inform members of the results, but to also assist in designing an appropriate questionnaire for elected members.

5. ICT Training continues to be available to Members at no cost and at times that are convenient for Members. However, the number of Members attending these courses remains very low and since September 2013 only 3 Members have attended any ICT training course.

6. Members have a wide variety of ICT skills, but it has proved difficult in attracting Members to improve their skill levels. As a result a number of calls to the ICT Service Desk are a direct result of a lack of training. Suggestions from the committee as to how the take up of training could be improved would be welcomed.

7. A number of major ICT projects are underway across the Council. The construction of a new computer suite in the basement of the Civic Offices to provide for the first time, purpose built facilities to house the servers and data storage that drive all of the Council’s ICT systems. This new facility will reduce power consumption and space, provide greater resilience to the power supply and air conditioning systems to ensure systems are available with the target set of 99.95%.

8. All desktop pcs and laptops are being upgraded to Windows 7 and Office 2010. To ensure they can run the new software older pcs are being replaced or upgrade as part of a technology refresh programme. This will be completed by April 2014 when support for the current versions (Windows XP and Office 2003) will expire.

Legal Implications (to Include Human Rights Implications)

9. There are no legal implications that arise as a result of this report

Crime and Disorder Implications

10. There are no Crime and Disorder implications for this report

Equal Opportunities Implications (to include Welsh Language issues)

11. There are no equal opportunity implications that arise as a result of this report.

Corporate/Service Objectives

12. To exercise robust financial management and explore all opportunities to improve efficiency and service quality including collaborative working.

13. To deliver cost-effective support and service desk function to monitor performance, meet customer needs and communicate effectively.